


Take Cover

by artbyweb86



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buddie if you squint, Eddie Diaz Needs a Hug (9-1-1 TV), Flashbacks, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Poor Eddie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artbyweb86/pseuds/artbyweb86
Summary: Eddie has been dealing with a migraine all day. They are wrapping up a call. Buck is playing with some toys in the yard and that triggers a flashback for Eddie. Suddenly he is in the middle of the war again.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie woke up with a migraine. He groaned and carefully rolled out of bed. He had a few hours before work to get it under control. He could hear Chris moving around his bedroom, probably getting dressed. He made his way to the bathroom and opened his cabinet. He found his migraine pills and took them with water. He knocked on Chris's door as he passed it on the way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He needed something substantial otherwise he would have a sour stomach on top of a migraine.

He grabbed the eggs and ham steak from the fridge and started cooking them on the stove. He cut up some fruit and poured orange juice for the two of them.

The familiar click, click of his son's crutches, although grating on his head right now, still brought a smile when his son entered the room and flashed him his signature smile.

"Sit, mijo. Breakfast will be ready in a second."

_"Greggs, don't move! Oh god. Don't take another step!"_

His hand trembled as he was transferring the eggs to a plate. As quickly as that had appeared, it was gone. He shook his head, regretting it, as it made his head feel worse. He had to eat otherwise he wouldn't be able to keep anything down if he delayed any more.

"Dad? Are you OK?"

Not wanting to worry his boy, he just smiled. "I'm fine Chris. Just tired. Work has been busy, but nothing your dad can't handle."

"Cause you're a hero?"

"Yeah, buddy. Eat up. We got to get you to school."

He wasn't hungry anymore. He felt less like a hero than ever. He just couldn't shake that odd feeling. But, he ate anyway.

By the time he got Chris to school and was changing at the station, his migraine had lessened to a headache, one he knew would persist though the day. He's pushed through before.

He came out of the locker room just as Buck was passing by.

"Hey Eddie! You doing OK? Looking a little pale."

He sighed. Knowing he wouldn't get anything past Buck, he told the truth. "Woke up with a migraine. But I'm fine. It's almost gone."

Buck winced. "Sorry man. I'll stick close to you on any calls we get. If you need to tap out and take a break."

He didn't know why, but that made him emotional and just nodded his head in response and smiled. Buck seemed satisfied with that answer and made his way to the kitchen. He had a cooking lesson with Bobby.

They had a few calls that day and all seemed to be going smoothly. His head was hurting, but he was able to ignore it. Buck shouldered more of his work as he could tell he was struggling a little. Bobby moved him to traffic control on one particular accident, for which he was grateful.

The last call of the day was pretty simple. A kid got his head stuck in the banister of their outdoor railing going to the back yard. They were able to free him pretty quickly. Hen and Chim checked him over and he only had minor redness from being stuck. No other injuries.

There were a bunch of toys in the yard. Buck had been looking at them with enough interest that the little boy grabbed his hand and dragged him to a section that had a small keyboard piano and other toys that made noise when you step on them. Buck tested out the keyboard piano and was able to tap out a simple tune with his foot. He had his hands clasped behind his back, a challenge from the kid. There were a few items that he tapped that clicked and whirred.

Soon the boy got bored and ran back inside the house. The mother was wrapping things up with Bobby before heading inside herself. 

He was watching Buck, his head pounding with each noise he was producing. The clicking toy got his attention.

He blinked and he was surrounded by desert. He was stepping in line with his team. They were keeping their eyes peeled as they were in open land. Only some scraggily trees were visible in the heat.

Greggs was in front of him. He was watching the ground, as Greggs was watching the horizon.

He heard a click and he snapped his attention to where Greggs was. "Greggs! Don't move! Not another step!"

Greggs made a noise, but was still moving forward, so he had a split second decision and moved as fast as he could, still yelling for him to stay put. He used all his strength and launched himself at Greggs, just as the landmine clicked and as he was dragging the man away from the area, it took another few seconds before it blew.

Everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Buck was enjoying the toys that were out on the lawn. It was end of shift, so they didn't have to rush back to the station. Even though the kid had gotten bored and ran inside the mother kindly let them stay a few more minutes to tinker with the toys. It had been a while since he had played with a piano, but he was able to get a simple tune out that he learned from childhood. A few other instruments laying around he could tap and make noise with his foot too. He was smiling and Hen and Chim had their cell phones out recording.

They were all startled when they heard someone shout, "Greggs! Don't move!" Buck only had a second to turn to figure out why the voice sounded familiar when a body came flying his way and tackled him, his arms now pinned behind him, and they both landed on the ground with grunts. There was a sudden burst of pain in his wrist, but he didn't have time to assess it, when the body, now Eddie, was dragging him away toward the firetruck.

"Greggs! Keep moving. We got to get away from here! Be careful. Keep your eyes peeled for any more land mines."

He could see Eddie's face was focused and frantic at the same time. But he wasn't there. He sounded like he was still a war zone, with the orders he was spitting out. He tried desperately to free his arms, but Eddie's grip was tight.

"Eddie! Stop! You're not in Afghanistan! Diaz!"

He wasn't getting through. He was still being dragged.

Bobby was watching in disbelief as his youngest firefighter had been tackled by his best friend, and was now being dragged across the lawn. He could tell Buck was in some kind of pain. A tackle like that could have injured ribs. Eddie was a very solid man when he could be.

"Hen! Sedative!"

She was already on it and trying to stay out of his eye line, jabbed the needle into his thigh. Eddie cried out and after a few seconds, stilled and passed out.

Buck was able to wiggle out from under Eddie, wincing as he did so, but ignoring the pain, so he could check on Eddie.

Hen moved to him first, as she noticed he was favoring his arm close to his body. Buck shook his head. "No, check Eddie first! I'm fine."

Hen and Chim rolled Eddie on to his back and started checking all his vitals, hooking him up to the leads.

Bobby grabbed Buck's shoulder and helped him to his feet as they watched the team carry Eddie to the ambulance.

"Buck, you OK? You guys went down pretty hard."

Buck looked visibly upset. Anyone would when someone you know is in distress.

"I think I tweaked my wrist. My shoulder is a little sore too. Eddie must have been a good football player in a past life. That was a wicked tackle."

Bobby nodded. He looked around the yard and saw all the toys that Buck had been tinkering with.

"He said he was suffering a migraine, right? These toys must have aggravated it, and triggered a flashback. I've never seen that happen in real life. But it must be common, right?"

Buck looked guilty, as if he was the one who gave him the migraine and caused his attack.

"Buck, before you beat yourself up. This was not your fault. You know he wouldn't blame you for something that neither of us can explain or control."

Hen approached them. "He's stable. We should get him to the hospital now. Buck, you wanna ride in the back?"

He nodded and followed Hen to the ambulance.

Bobby stayed back, as he had come in the truck, and went to apologize to the family, as he wasn't sure what they had witnessed.

Eddie woke with a start. He could hear the beeping of machines and his mind felt groggy and hazy. It took him a minute to realize he was in the hospital.

Afghanistan? No. His mind clearing a little bit. He was in California. He was at a call. It was all coming back. He knew he was at a call, when his mind went blank and then he was suddenly back in the desert. That had been confusing, but felt very real. He was familiar with the mission, but still wasn't prepared. His instincts were good and had saved Greggs from death or possible loss of limbs. He tackled him. But he wasn't there now. So who did he tackle at the call?

He looked around the room and his gaze fell upon a sleeping Buck. He was awkwardly slumped in the chair. But, what really stood out, was his wrist was in a soft cast, and that arm was in a sling.

He tackled Buck? He got injured in the process?

He groaned in frustration. How could he be so careless?

Buck stirred and rubbed his face with his good hand. He blinked and when he spotted Eddie looking in his direction, he smiled brightly and grabbed his hand.

"Eddie, so glad to see you awake! How are you feeling?"

Eddie took a moment to assess. "Better, a little groggy, but my head doesn't hurt anymore."

Buck just smiled and held his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I'm sorry Buck. I hurt you!"

"It's OK, Eddie. I know you would never intentionally hurt me. Just a sprained wrist and my shoulder is bruised. Better me than that kid."

"But you still got hurt. You're probably out for a couple weeks. Oh man, I must be in so much trouble!"

"Nah. Bobby said he'll talk to you. You'll need some counseling before you can come back. Only a few sessions. Also the doctor ordered you get more rest. Stress of the job. This job anyway. I guess Bobby's only condition is, you can't come in if you have a migraine, which I know aren't often. So you won't have to worry too much."

"I guess that's good then. Where's Chris?"

"It's late now. Carla will bring him in the morning."

He nodded, already feeling sleepy again. He yawned a few times, fighting to stay awake. He felt Buck remove his hand from his, and he combed it through his hair a few times.

"Go to sleep, Eds. I'll be here in the morning too."

He did and slept peacefully and flashback free.


End file.
